Fox News Gripes About Overtime Pay Expansion

President Obama expanded overtime for millions of Americans last week. Fox News wants you to think that’s bad news for workers.

The “fair and balanced” debate, featuring four critics and one supporter, kicked off with supposedly objective host Dagen McDowell suggesting that workers would be reaping undeserved fortunes as she described Obama’s rule change as “kicking overtime into overdrive.”

Guest John Layfield called the expansion “just naive on the administration’s part.” He claimed the new rule would have the “exact opposite effect” because employers would move more workers into “an hourly wage instead of being salaried workers.” He claimed – without providing any evidence – that the rule would make for more job losses in manufacturing.

McDowell jumped in again to add some more naysaying: “There were 270,000 letters and complaints from businesses about this rule before it was solidified by the administration, saying it’s going to hurt full-time hiring and cut worker hours,” she said.

Guest Mark Hannah was the only supporter, but he put forth a good argument.

HANNAH: The leaders of businesses who are making money off the backs of those workers are writing that letter. Frankly, I don’t care. I care about the worker and I think the president cares about - there are workers out there who are working long, long hours, working more than 40 hours a week, aren’t getting the pay they deserve, I think a lot of your viewers might be among them, and this is going to benefit more than four million people.

Guest Gary B. Smith agreed with Layfield. “I sometimes think there’s no one in government, especially in this administration, that has ever had a job outside of politics,” he sneered. “They have no concept how business works. For all I know, they’ve never even worked in McDonald’s.”